_ritter_
Gadfly
[Data below letter]
To the editor:
On Friday September 17th - the day leading up to the flood of 2004, the main stem gauge at Barryville, New York stood at 3.3 feet and the West Branch Delaware River gauge was recorded at 3.0 feet via the USGS. Both of these levels are considered normal.
During the late afternoon of Saturday September 18th, the main stem Upper Delaware River at the USGS at the Barryville gauge crested at 24 feet - an increase of over 20 feet over a 24 hour period!
Sullivan and Delaware Counties received over six inches of heavy rain in a short time during the night of September 17th
New York City Department of Environmental Protection, in charge of both reservoirs on the East and West Branches of the Delaware River, should be accountable for not releasing more water throughout the late summer months of 2004.
It is possible that if the NYC DEP had released more water from the bottom of their reservoirs in anticipation of additional rainfall, it might have prevented some of the flooding that we witnessed last weekend due to spillage over the top of the reservoir.
Our region had experienced over 15 inches of rainfall prior to this storm from mid July through early September. The ground was waterlogged with no cushion for additional water to go. Additionally, New York City's water capacity was 20% above their normal reserve before the 2004 flood in early September.
Even with those facts, the West Branch Delaware River water levels were running at or below normal for July and August 2004 - from 2.2 feet to 3.2 feet -since very little water was being released from Cannonsville Reservoir by New York City authorities.
It is my hope that our township officials, Upper Delaware Council delegates, commercial businesses and residents throughout the river valley will question these facts and the aftermath of this flood through an organized forum to raise questions about NYC DEP's water management.
My question is: Why wasn't more water released by the NYC DEP from their reservoirs during this past summer as a precaution to what has now happened to many within the tailwater river towns of the Upper Delaware River system this past weekend. And - more to the point - how can we prevent this tragedy from happening again in the future?
Sincerely,
Anthony Ritter
NYS Licensed Guide #1998
Gone Fishing Guide Service
Narrowsburg, NY
-------------------------------------------
Average Precipitation in Inches [Source: NYC DEP]
July 2004 - Actual 6.6 inches / Historical 4.1 inches
August 2004 - Actual 5.8 inches / Historical 4.0 inches
September 2004* - Actual 7.2 inches / Historical 3.9 inches
*To date [September 20 2004]
**Note: Narrowsburg received more than 7 inches of rain on September from September 17-18 2004 [Source: wunderground.com / Monticello, NY]
Total to Date for the past three months of Summer 2004:
Actual:
19.6 inches
Historical:
12.0 inches
---------------------------------------
NYC Reservoirs - Current Storage
100.2%
NYC Reservoirs - Normal Storage
77.0%
-----------------------------------------
As of September 21 2004:
Cannonsville Reservoir (West Branch Delaware River)
% of Capacity:
107.1%
Pepacton Reservoir (East Branch Delaware River)
% of Capacity:
102.2%
Precipitation from Friday 9/17 through Sunday 9/19 [72 hours] 2004 with regards to the flood of 2004.
North to South:
Deposit, NY
2.92
1.14
0.00
______
4.06"
Narrowsburg, NY
0.26
7.20
0.00
_______
7.46"
Milford, PA
0.30
3.05
0.00
_______
3.35"
Stroudsburg, PA
1.51
2.65
0.00
________
4.16"
Easton, PA
0.23
4.60
0.00
________
4.83"
Trenton, NJ
0.10
0.90
0.00
_______
1.00"
Source: Wunderground
--------------
USGS gauge data at Harvard (East Branch) [above confluence of the Beaverkill] and Hale Eddy (West Branch) - [5 miles from reservoir] for the time period of September 17 through 19 2004 - 7:00am readings - which are above secondary tribuatries to their respective rivers:
Hale Eddy:
2.88 feet / Friday
11.27 feet / Saturday
11.21 feet / Sunday
Harvard:
3.00 feet / Friday
9.57 feet / Saturday
14.13 feet / Sunday
Source: USGS
To the editor:
On Friday September 17th - the day leading up to the flood of 2004, the main stem gauge at Barryville, New York stood at 3.3 feet and the West Branch Delaware River gauge was recorded at 3.0 feet via the USGS. Both of these levels are considered normal.
During the late afternoon of Saturday September 18th, the main stem Upper Delaware River at the USGS at the Barryville gauge crested at 24 feet - an increase of over 20 feet over a 24 hour period!
Sullivan and Delaware Counties received over six inches of heavy rain in a short time during the night of September 17th
New York City Department of Environmental Protection, in charge of both reservoirs on the East and West Branches of the Delaware River, should be accountable for not releasing more water throughout the late summer months of 2004.
It is possible that if the NYC DEP had released more water from the bottom of their reservoirs in anticipation of additional rainfall, it might have prevented some of the flooding that we witnessed last weekend due to spillage over the top of the reservoir.
Our region had experienced over 15 inches of rainfall prior to this storm from mid July through early September. The ground was waterlogged with no cushion for additional water to go. Additionally, New York City's water capacity was 20% above their normal reserve before the 2004 flood in early September.
Even with those facts, the West Branch Delaware River water levels were running at or below normal for July and August 2004 - from 2.2 feet to 3.2 feet -since very little water was being released from Cannonsville Reservoir by New York City authorities.
It is my hope that our township officials, Upper Delaware Council delegates, commercial businesses and residents throughout the river valley will question these facts and the aftermath of this flood through an organized forum to raise questions about NYC DEP's water management.
My question is: Why wasn't more water released by the NYC DEP from their reservoirs during this past summer as a precaution to what has now happened to many within the tailwater river towns of the Upper Delaware River system this past weekend. And - more to the point - how can we prevent this tragedy from happening again in the future?
Sincerely,
Anthony Ritter
NYS Licensed Guide #1998
Gone Fishing Guide Service
Narrowsburg, NY
-------------------------------------------
Average Precipitation in Inches [Source: NYC DEP]
July 2004 - Actual 6.6 inches / Historical 4.1 inches
August 2004 - Actual 5.8 inches / Historical 4.0 inches
September 2004* - Actual 7.2 inches / Historical 3.9 inches
*To date [September 20 2004]
**Note: Narrowsburg received more than 7 inches of rain on September from September 17-18 2004 [Source: wunderground.com / Monticello, NY]
Total to Date for the past three months of Summer 2004:
Actual:
19.6 inches
Historical:
12.0 inches
---------------------------------------
NYC Reservoirs - Current Storage
100.2%
NYC Reservoirs - Normal Storage
77.0%
-----------------------------------------
As of September 21 2004:
Cannonsville Reservoir (West Branch Delaware River)
% of Capacity:
107.1%
Pepacton Reservoir (East Branch Delaware River)
% of Capacity:
102.2%
Precipitation from Friday 9/17 through Sunday 9/19 [72 hours] 2004 with regards to the flood of 2004.
North to South:
Deposit, NY
2.92
1.14
0.00
______
4.06"
Narrowsburg, NY
0.26
7.20
0.00
_______
7.46"
Milford, PA
0.30
3.05
0.00
_______
3.35"
Stroudsburg, PA
1.51
2.65
0.00
________
4.16"
Easton, PA
0.23
4.60
0.00
________
4.83"
Trenton, NJ
0.10
0.90
0.00
_______
1.00"
Source: Wunderground
--------------
USGS gauge data at Harvard (East Branch) [above confluence of the Beaverkill] and Hale Eddy (West Branch) - [5 miles from reservoir] for the time period of September 17 through 19 2004 - 7:00am readings - which are above secondary tribuatries to their respective rivers:
Hale Eddy:
2.88 feet / Friday
11.27 feet / Saturday
11.21 feet / Sunday
Harvard:
3.00 feet / Friday
9.57 feet / Saturday
14.13 feet / Sunday
Source: USGS